Model 500 Antique Telephones
We had one for years and loved it so much. We let an ex borrow it when their wireless broke and we never saw it again. The weight of the phone is what we remember. For us, flimsy phones give flimsy reception. The down side? We just don’t know what you do with all of the automated phone messages out there. Press one for English? Not on this beauty.
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Don't mind me, I'm just drooling on the floor.
Target does a retro looks-like-dial, actually digital phone called the Metro Phone (of course I can't find it on their site) for $29.99 or thereabouts. (We have it. It looks like Pee Wee Herman designed it for Dashiell Hammett.) They also have more accurately styled retro phones on their site:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-2/qid=1133373232/ref=sr_1_2/601-0958582-2652157?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000238LD8
those target phones are good. i miss the old rotaries (sniff, sniff) they look so good, how would they function now? you would have to just sit and talk...interesting seating area coming to mind based on rotary phone...remember the old GTE phone stores? those were fun.
Kellyo, the magic phrase chez moi is "50-foot phone cord." (Okay, 25 feet would have been sufficient. I got carried away.) Carrying the phone around to talk works the arm muscles -- much more fun than hand weights!
It's possible to adapt dial phones for digital, but that's the extent of what I know about that.
Rotary phones still work -- I have one that I bought from the phone company when the stopped leasing their equipment (back when it was NY Tel) -- the standard rotary units were sold for $3 apiece!!! ( this was the very late 70's -- a bargain even then!!!) They are built to last! If you look on the bottom, their history if often printed on them -- mine was manufactured in the 50's, and rebuilt in 75.
I have a rotary phone like that, but in black. I love the look and feel of these phones so much that I had to have one of my own, so I purchased it on eBay. They are so sturdy and wonderful. No stupid electronic junk for me!
I love the old rotary phone and fantasize about having a phone booth/room in my house one day-like the one they have in The Royal Tanenbaums.
Antique?
Doesn't something need to be commercially unavailable for more than 30 years to be "antique"? Would you call 70's Disco LPs antique?
How about "vintage"?
I bought an orange version of this phone from oldphones.com, so feel free to check out the site. The guy who runs it will either send you one that is hardwired (for those who need it to be really authentic) or equipped with a regular, modern plug-in jack (which I have.) I use it as a second phone, since it's obviously not touch-tone. But be warned, when they ring, they RRRIIING, VERY loudly! I had to open mine up and stuff cotton balls in it to muffle the bell! Newer models have volume controls, though.
100 years & older is classed antique
Old production runs that are no longer made or obsolete are vintage. I have a several vintage & antigue phones.
I have a few of the old model #500 phones. I collect them and they are bullett proof and always work well. There is just somthing about "that ring" Also having a father that worked for Bell Canada for almost 42 years got me the telephone bug.